Golden Gate

Dogs No Dogs

E-Bikes Allowed

Features Pump Track

Vail charges up to $50 for the bike haul pass ($23 if you have an Epic pass). If you have the lungs and endurance, you can easily ride up Gitalong Road or Mill Creek Road from Vail Village to the start of Golden Gate (about four miles and 1,300 vertical of climbing). There are several access roads that cross the trail if you get tired and no longer want to continue on.

This newly machine-cut trail (finished in the spring of 2020) is bound to become a favorite of people hitting the Vail Resort mountain bike scene. Do you love Radio Flyer (a top trail in Colorado) or Big Mamba? Then you are going to get a hoot out of the extremely fun, fast, flowy Golden Gate Trail.

Per the trail builders, this was going to be the continuation of the "cut in 2019" Sidekick trail that starts out at Mid Vail and makes it's way across Riva Ridge, Prima until finishing at the base of Chair 10 (the bottom of Blue Ox, Roger's Run and Highline). Instead of calling it "Lower Sidekick" they changed it up and called it "Golden Gate" and this makes one heck of a fun descent from Mid Vail to the base of Vail Village. Definitely link these two trails together starting at Mid Vail (or simply ride up the 1,300 vertical descent from the village on Mill Creek Road to the base of Chair 10 and start from there saving yourself the $25-$50 bike haul ticket for the gondola).

Golden Gate is a bit easier than Sidekick and a bit more smooth likely owing to being on the lower part of the mountain. It descends a solid 1,000' vertical as it hugs the shoulder of Golden Peak at Vail. Fast straightaways through stands of aspens with a few whoop-dee-doos thrown in to keep it interesting leads to shaded and fun twisty sections with beautifully bermed sides.

Occasionally, you'll cross an access road (cat track in the winter) but quickly bomb right back into beautiful smooth terrain. You'll cross a bunch of ski trails and eventually pop out onto Lower Riva Ridge as you get near the bottom. A few more darts into the aspen trees keep you wanting more. Finish right near the top of the beginner Chair 12 at Golden Peak and head back to the gondola for another lap. Trust me, you'll want to do it a second time.

This trail is great for intermediates (it is rated a "green freeride trail" by Vail Resorts). Kids with decent bike handling skills from age 8 and up were seen recently having fun on this trail and there are plenty of opportunities to hop out on the access road if you feel like you are over your head, but by no means is this a technical trail.